A “communicating” or “connected” object is a term used herein to designate an object having the ability to exchange information via a communications network either with another object, or with a communications terminal, or indeed with computer equipment of the communications network. Thus, both a mobile terminal, and a watch adapted for transmitting information to a mobile terminal via an extended communications network, such as the Internet, constitute examples of connected objects.
In order to connect the communicating object to a communications network, it is necessary to use either a subscription to the communications network that is specific to the communicating object, or else an access gateway that itself possesses a subscription to the communications network. By way of example, such an access gateway may be a home gateway giving access to the service of a communications network operator, or it may be a mobile telephone configured as an access gateway.
The first solution presents the advantage of enabling the communicating object to connect itself with all of the access points of the communications network that are compatible with the connection means of the communicating object, and to do so in a manner that is independent and transparent for its user. However it presents the drawback of being expensive since it assumes taking out as many subscriptions as there are communicating objects for connecting to the communications network.
The second solution is less expensive, since it requires the use of only one subscription to the communications network, regardless of the number of objects to be connected. Nevertheless, the second solution is not satisfactory, since in order to connect a communicating object to a communications network, it requires prior pairing of the communicating object with a given access gateway. Consequently, the communicating object can access the communications network only if it is in the vicinity of the access gateway. If this condition is not true, then prior to being able to connect with the communications network, the communicating object will need once more to be paired, but with another access gateway that is situated in its vicinity.
Consequently, connecting a communicating object to a communications network is an operation that is either expensive or difficult to carry out.